


Brothers at Heart

by xkrytore



Series: Merlin/Merthur Oneshots [5]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Original Character Death(s), lo siento
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27136708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xkrytore/pseuds/xkrytore
Summary: After reuniting with an old friend, Lysander, Merlin and the other magic user set off to mess with Arthur and the knights on a damp, rainy day. However, this harmless, playful plan goes terribly wrong as the storm worsens and trust is shattered.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin & OC - Lysander
Series: Merlin/Merthur Oneshots [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1980605
Kudos: 9





	Brothers at Heart

**Author's Note:**

> yeehaw boys it's angst time
> 
> also yes, there's an oc character who's literally just. there  
> meet lysander, purple bird man who can feel emotions

Merlin sighed, leaning back in his chair, groaning. "He's insufferable! Hardly cares for himself, and I have to do all the work! He can hardly do anything for himself," he complained to his close friend, who was sitting across the table from him.

Lysander snorted, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, leaning forwards onto the table with an amused expression. "You're the one who chose to work for him."

"I am not! Uther practically forced me to. It was a supposed reward," Merlin explained, frowning at Lysander, "You're taking this much too lightly. I don't think you understand-- He's just like his father. He hates magic with a passion."

"Then why are we here? It's on pain of death, right?" Lysander tilted his head at his friend, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You've been here for a couple of months right? Why stay?"

Merlin sighed and rubbed the palms of his hands over his eyes. "It's... A long story. I may have... exaggerated a bit. Arthur's not like his father, not completely. I was just... ranting because of that incident with those druids. I'm glad you got out all right."

"Of course. It's hard to get caught when you can move faster than sound," Lysander chuckled dryly, waving a hand in dismissal. He and Merlin had met when the young warlock was travelling to Camelot, and bonded over their shared magic. Lysander himself wasn't a warlock, nor did he use the magic of the old religion, but it was still magic nonetheless. "And you've gotten much better at casting spells than the last time I saw you."

"Yeah. It makes it a lot easier, not having to say anything. Easier to keep hidden, I mean."

"I know."

Suddenly, the door burst open with a shout of "Merlin!"

He turned to stare at Arthur, who had just stormed into the room. "Hi."

The prince frowned as he looked at Lysander with a dark expression. "Who's this."

"Oh, well, Lysander, you get to meet the royal prat himself." Merlin shot a glance at Arthur to gauge his reaction, smirking slightly. "Arthur, meet Lysander. We're like brothers."

For some strange reason, Arthurs expression cleared, and he seemed to relax a bit, nodding briskly at Lysander. "It's nice to meet you, I suppose."

"As to you." Lysander rose to his feet for a moment, bowing at his shoulders, then sat back down, arching an eyebrow as he glanced at Merlin. He was beginning to think there was something more than this borderline friendship between the two, not just from Arthur's expression change. He was an empath, and one in the magical sense. He was able to pick up emotions from people and other animals, and the emotions coming from Arthur were not the emotions of a prince to his useless manservant.

Merlin noticed Lysander's small smirk, the corners of his mouth twitching to a frown, but he smiled as Arthur began to speak again.

"Well, I was planning to ask you to do something for me, but seeing as you have a friend, why don't you take the day off. Just know that you'll have extra chores tomorrow," he said, inclining his head to Merlin, but not wanting to seem too nice. He was a prince after all.

"Really? That's a surprise. Why are you being so nice, Arthur?"

The prince coughed. "Well-- You hardly have any free time. I keep you on your feet all the time, so I thought it best to give you some time to spend with your friend."

"Oh. Thanks," Merlin said, still rather confused, but he wasn't going to deny a day off from the back breaking work Arthur always had him do, day after day.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Uh, well— Have a good day, then," Arthur said, a but awkwardly, then slunk out the door, closing it behind him and walking away.

Merlin and Lysander turned back to look at each other, staring for a moment, then the brown haired boy burst out into laughter, startling Merlin.

"What was that all about?" he asked, once Lysander had gotten a hold of himself again, squinting at the other magic user.

"H— Well— You see—" Lysander had to stop because he choked on air, not quite composed yet. "I can sense emotions, as you probably know. Some people, mainly druids, have a barrier. You have a natural one as well. But uh, Arthur doesn't."

"... And what is that supposed to mean..?"

"I— Uh— Well— You, you see— The emotions Arthur were feeling were... not the emotions one usually feels when looking at their manservant," Lysander coughed out.

Merlin flushed, even the tips of his ears turned red. "Wh— What?"

"It's exactly what I said. Prince Arthur cares about you a... bit more then he tries to let you see. And, if how you're reacting tells me anything, you feel a similar emotion?" Lysander chuckled, his smile growing wider as Merlin turned an even darker red, glaring daggers into his soul.

"I-- Do not!" Merlin huffed, eyes flashing gold as he hurled a glass container at Lysander's head, which he easily caught in midair, his own eyes, usually a grey-silver, flashing a startling purple. The green liquid inside the container sloshed around as it floated down to rest on the table, in between an angered Merlin and a Lysander with a cheeky grin.

"Oh? Well, best not to tell him that, hm?" Lysander tilted his head, batting his eyelashes. "You wouldn't want to break your dear prince's heart."

"Shut up, or I'll enchant your tongue to the roof of your mouth." Merlin's eyes flashed threateningly, and another bottle flew at Lysander's head, stopping a foot away with yet another purple swirl of color.

"Do you even know a spell to do that? Wait-- Don't tell me. I don't want to know," Lysander snorted, chucking the bottle right back at Merlin. They continued to do this for a few moments, until Gaius entered to room and the bottle crashed to the ground, spilling a hissing yellow substance onto the ground. The two boys turned to face the old man with bashful looks on their faces, and he raised the condescending eyebrow.

"What were you two doing?" he asked, but judging by the fading, unnatural colors in their eyes, he already knew. "You know you're not supposed to use your magic for fun."

"Sorry Gaius-- We just had a little... Uh, argument," Merlin explained loftily, with a glare shot towards Lysander, who just snickered in response.

Gaius shook his head slowly, sighing heavily. "What am I going to do with you two. Imagine; two magic users in Camelot, right under the prince's nose!"

"We haven't gotten caught."

"Yet," Lysander added helpfully.

Gaius just mumbled something that sounded like 'boys will be boys' under his breath, shuffling over to another table on one side of the room and setting down his bag, pulling out dried herbs and some not so dry herbs.

"Well, we have a day to do anything we want," Merlin turned to grin at Lysander, who raised his eyebrow in a similar way as Gaius.

"And it's wet, most likely. Look at those herbs." He tossed his head in Gaius' direction, causing Merlin to frown.

He was silent for a moment, then he began to smile slowly, a wide, mischievous smile. "But, guess what. The knights are going out on patrol."

"And?" Lysander stared at Merlin, starting to get a small idea of what he was planning, but only a small idea.

"Well... It's dark, and wet, and muddy, so they probably can't really see us..."

"Oh, oh no. Merlin-- That's really not good."

"It'll be fun! A chance to stretch our wings for once. Well, not real wings, but still! We can mess with them so much, and they won't know what hit them!"

"But what if we get caught?"

"We won't."

"... Merlin."

"We're not gonna get caught, Lysander! Come on, just this once?"

Lysander hesitated a moment more, looking away, watching Gaius work for a moment, then finally gave in, looking back at Merlin. "Fine. But, if there's any chance of getting caught, we're getting out of there."

"Sure. C'mon, let's go!"

<<+>>

Arthur rode at the lead of his knights, the mare he was upon struggling to stay balanced in the mud. He gritted his teeth as the rain began to fall once more, making it even harder to see. No, his father was worried about other kingdoms taking advantage of the weather, so they just had to patrol. Like anyone could take advantage of this weather. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, thunder following almost immediately after. It almost seemed to shake the ground; the strike must have been close.

"We should turn back!" Leon shouted from his position on Arthur's right, trying to be heard over the howling wind. His horse then proceeded to rear up and paw at the air with his hooves, eyes wild, the experienced knight barely managing to stay on and calm the stallion down.

"We can't!" Arthur shouted back, "My father ordered us to check the eastern border!"

"It's too dangerous! The horses are already getting spooked," Leon tried again, casting a desperate glance towards the other knights, who were being beaten by the wind and rain as well, their horses trudging pitifully through the mud.

Arthur wanted to continue to fight, to be able to complete this patrol and tell his father that everything was fine, but he also knew Leon was right. However, there was no way they'd be able to make it back to the palace in one piece.

"We'll find a place where we can stay out of the storm. A cave, or something," Arthur responded, somehow heard by all the knights, who's faces showed their relief.

Unbeknownst to the group, Merlin and Lysander were in a tree, their eyes both glowing consistently due to the face they were casting spells to hear, stay dry, and to summon wings-- one of Lysander's better ideas. They shared a look, Merlin looking concerned.

"There aren't any large caves around here," he said, just as Lysander was about to say the same thing, nodding instead.

"Then... We'll have to make one," Lysander stated firmly, looking around from his perch on a separate branch, shifting up one iridescent, dark purple wing to block more of the howling wind, looking around for any suitable place.

"We have to move quickly, before they notice. Hopefully they'll be too relieved to notice it wasn't there before. Arthur knows Camelot's territory like the back of his hand," he added at Lysander's confused look, waving a hand out to the ground below.

"Oh, that makes sense. All right, let's find a place." Lysander stretched out both wings, twitching the area where they appeared to fuse at his shoulders, then started to flap them, ready to take off. "Coming?"

"Yep. And to think we were planning on messing with them."

<<+>>

"Arthur, look over there," Leon called, pointing towards something glowing in the distance. The prince frowned and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. They had ridden a bit further, but as far as Arthur knew, there were no caves around here large enough to shelter them all through the storm.

"Let's check it out," he called back, motioning for the group to follow, kicking his horse into a marching walk, moving as quickly as they could while being safe about it, not wanting any of the horses to get injured. It was treacherous with the wind and rain, the ground slick and easy to fall on, and with gear on the back of the horses, there was a large chance they could get hurt in a fall.

The group eventually made it to the light, realizing it was a cave a little up on a hill. The light was coming from inside, a flickering orange fire, warm and inviting. Leon need only cast a questioning glance towards Arthur before the prince nodded, and the group dismounted, leading their horses to a sheltered area right near the hill, the branches of low trees and tall shrubs tangled together, almost like a natural barrier. They couldn't do much to make sure the horses would stay, but they could try their best to keep them safe.

"The fire looks fresh... And I don't remember there being this large of a cave here. Last time I was here was with Merlin-- It was hardly big enough to fit the both of us, having just been an alcove," Arthur said, looking around, poking at the fire warily with his sword. He glanced around; he was very strange for this cave to have changed so much in... Maybe a month or so.

"But we're lucky it's here," Leon said, like Arthur, not noticing the last sparkling remnants of magic fade from the cave, "else we would have been trapped out in the storm."

"True," Arthur agreed, but he was still wary of the place. He waved his hand for his men to come inside and make themselves as comfortable as they could, planning on taking the first watch.

<<+>>

Merlin and Lysander grinned at each other, yet again perched precariously in a tree, only a single branch away from each other as the crouched low to the bark of the branches, wings pressing against others to keep themselves balanced.

"I think that worked well," Merlin said, his smile much wider than Lysander's, excited that he managed to help Arthur and the rest of the patrol.

Lysander hesitated. "But if we're ever planning on ever getting out, we might have to knock Arthur out. Look at how suspicious he is," he said, pointing at where Arthur stood at the edge of the cave, just out of the wind and rain, gazing coldly out into the weather.

"Oh. Why is he doing that?"

"He's suspicious. Probably thinks it has something to do with magic, not that I'm surprised. You said it was only a month or so ago that you came here, right?"

"Uh, yeah, should have been. Dunno why he would have remembered."

"Was it just you two?"

"Yeah..?"

"Alrighty then."

Merlin flushed yet again. "What?"

Lysander just laughed, shaking his head. "Nothing."

Merlin continued to stare at Lysander, his blush fading slowly, only a small pink tint from the wind and stinging rain, still embarrassed. He sighed and rolled his eyes, looking back towards where Arthur was standing.

<<+>>

"Arthur, are you going to sleep at all?"

He turned to see Leon watching him, back against the wall of the cave, eyes dark. "Possibly."

"What's wrong, then," said Leon, with a flat tone. It was obvious Arthur was uncomfortable, else he would have let another knight take watch, but he was just standing there, staring out into the storm.

Arthur gritted his teeth, running his nails over the hilt of his sword. "This cave. It was only a month or so ago, when Merlin and I came here. We had gotten lost due to a bandit attack, and took shelter here, but it was hardly big enough for the two of us."

"Oh?" Leon arched an eyebrow, which Arthur didn't notice, as he was still looking out into the darkness, mind churning.

"I feel like this may be a trap. After all, it was inviting and warm, the perfect place to settle down in this storm," Arthur said, glancing towards Leon, who had quickly put on a concerned expression.

"Then we could still take turns keeping watch. You don't have to stay up all night."

"I'd rather keep an eye out for my men, Leon."

"You're going to pass out on your horse tomorrow," the knight warned, eyeing Arthur, frowning now.

"I'll be fine. I... Just have a bad feeling that this may be a trap," Arthur repeated, clenching his fist around the hilt of his sword, eyes darkening.

"Relax, Arthur. Nothing's happened yet. Everyone else is asleep. If some sorcerer truly wanted to kill us all, they could have done so all ready."

"Thank you, Leon," Arthur said dryly, throwing a cold glance towards the head knight.

"Sorry, sire," he chuckled quietly, rubbing his hand over his face. "But I'm going to get some sleep. If you change your mind, just shake me awake."

"Of course." Arthur just continued to stare out into the night, listening to the rain hammer down around the cave. He had noticed how neither water nor cold came into the cave despite the storm. Obviously more magic, surrounding the cave. Although, why it was protecting them, he didn't know. Maybe to lure them all into a false sense of security.

<<+>>

"Merlin, what are we going to do?" Lysander asked his friend, lifting his wings up a little higher to block more of the wind. "We know the storm isn't just a normal storm. Something is coming, and here's Arthur, keeping himself awake with false ideas. He's scared, y'know."

"... I'll talk to him," Merlin replied, staring down at the prince.

"And how will you manage that? What excuse will you come up with to tell him why you're here?" Lysander retorted, eyes flashing brightly, already purple, the branch Merlin was crouched on beginning to quiver.

"H-- ey! Lysander, calm down. I'l... Think of something," Merlin said, startled by the sudden shaking. He huffed out a puff of breath that fogged in the freezing air, eyes glowing brighter as he strained to see Arthur, the storm increasing in force. They were both constantly using their magic, and it was draining them slowly. He was forced to mumble a more powerful spell under his breath to shield the knights from the bitter wind, cursing the rain that never ended.

"I'm sorry— Just, stay safe, okay? Don't do something stupid," Lysander warned, feeling the emotions radiating from Merlin. He was going to do something reckless just to save Arthur's royal behind.

"I'll try not to," Merlin said, not looking at Lysander.

Oh boy.

<<+>>

Arthur had zoned out, half keeping an eye on the entrance, half daydreaming. Well, dreaming? No, he wasn't completely asleep, just leaning against the cave wall and lapsing into memories.

There had been a bandit attack. In order get away safely, the group split up. He and Merlin managed to get away, not followed, but were lost as it had been dark, and he was disoriented. After they returned he took it upon himself to learn this area better, to not get lost as easily.

They had sheltered under this overhang, rather small. He was pressed up against Merlin's side, rather uncomfortably squished, but he didn't mind.

"Arthur," Merlin had said, "scoot over. I have no room."

"Merlin," he had responded, "you can't order your prince around like that."

"Oh, come on! I'm squished!" Merlin whined, prodding Arthur in the ribs.

Arthur laughed and rolled on his side, giving Merlin more room while staring into his eyes, still laughing softly. "Do you have more room now?"

"Mhm." Merlin rolled forwards and pressed closer to Arthur, forehead resting on his chest. "It's kinda cold."

Even though it wasn't, Arthur hummed his agreement, tossing an arm over Merlin, fighting the urge to wrap it tightly around him and kiss the top of his head. This moment was so innocent, so pure-- And yet it couldn't be anything, and that hurt Arthur so much.

"Prince Arthur Pendragon."

A voice startled Arthur out of his dreams, and he focused on a figure in front of him, then locked up, moving dangerously fast, pulling his sword out of it's sheath and holding it to the man's chest. "Who are you, and why do you look like Merlin."

The man stood stock still, golden wings flaring behind him. "I am a friend, Arthur Pendragon. I did not want to scare you, but it appears that taking the form of your friend scares you more. I am sorry, but there isn't much I can do about it anymore."

"What do you want from us, then." Arthur tried to seem strong, but his sword wavered the tiniest bit as he held it level with Not-Merlin's chest, the closeness in their features making his heart race. If he didn't know better, he'd think this was Merlin himself.

"Please, do not threaten me. I only wish to help. I am Emrys, a powerful warlock. This storm has been brought by magic, meaning you and your knights are in danger," he said, in Merlin's voice. Every syllable, the same as Merlin. Arthur's sword stopped shaking, point inching forwards.

"My father warned me of you," he rasped, point now touching Emrys' chest. He coughed, taking a deep breath. "He told me to kill you if I ever laid eyes on you."

Merlin tried to stop himself from shaking, but his heart hammered in his chest, his breathing catching in his throat as blood pounded in his ears. "Prince A-- Arthur Pendragon-- Please, do not do this."

"Stop. Stop talking. You sound just like him." Arthur's voice grew louder as he spoke, startling a couple of the knights awake.

Leon stared at Arthur, who appeared to be holding a sword level with... Merlin? Merlin's chest? He scrambled to his feet, grabbing wildly for his sword as he noticed the glowing wings protruding from Merlin's back. "Arthur! What-- What's going on?"

"This... sorcerer... has taken the form of Merlin," he growled, pressing the tip of the sword further into Merlin's chest, making him step backwards, using his wings to shield himself as he stepped into the rain.

"Please, Arthur--" Merlin's voice broke over Arthur's name, and that snapped him.

"Stop it!" He roared, lunging forwards. The sword plunged through the sorcerer's chest, as he heard someone scream, "Arthur no!"

A flurry of royal purple wings knocked him backwards, his sword falling from his grip as he was thrown backwards into the far wall of the cave. He landed heavily on the ground, pain shooting through his chest from his ribs, making him wince.

"Merlin-- You said you weren't going to do anything stupid," Lysander said, his voice choked as he pulled the sword from Merlin's chest with a bright flash from his eyes, which then faded to a dull purple.

Merlin?

His Merlin?

No.

It couldn't be.

"... Merlin..?" He croaked, struggling to stand up. His eyes were wide as he stared at the two winged figures, recognizing the purple-winged one as Lysander, Merlin's friend.

Lysander turned his head to look at Arthur with tears in his eyes, shoulders shaking. "He will return on his own, but it may take minutes, days, or even centuries. Merlin... Emrys... He is the most powerful warlock to walk the Earth."

"... No. That wasn't Merlin. Merlin is my friend. He would— He would never betray me like that. He would never practice magic," Arthur choked out, staring helplessly at the body on the ground. His heartbeat raced. Or did it? Was it slow? Too slow— He couldn't breath. The hammering of the rain, the howling wind— Merlin.

"You'd better believe it. I hope you learn to regret what you've done, before the Pendragon's hate of magic smothers Camelot. Goodbye, Arthur Pendragon. Your Emrys will rise now, but only this once will I be able to bring him back so soon." As Lysander spoke, his eyes glowed, as did his wings, growing brighter and brighter until Arthur and the rest of the knights were forced to close their eyes.

Once he opened them again, Arthur saw Merlin sitting up from where he had fallen on the ground, blood still staining his shirt, but there was no sign of a wound. He stood still, hardly daring to believe. This was all a dream-- Too crazy to be real.

"Arthur..?" Merlin said slowly, staring straight at him, eyes unfocused but trying, filled with emotion. He shook as he stood up, obviously struggling, but he seemed strong enough, quivering wings pressing against the rough rocks as he stood, the rain still hammering on him.

"N-- No. You're not Merlin," Arthur said once more, but he couldn't believe his own words. It was Merlin, he knew that it was, but there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't move, just staring, shaking, watching as his Merlin stepped closer, then again, into the cave.

"Merlin?" Leon said, also staring at the approaching winged figure. He still held his sword, but it was loose in his grip as he stared, scared.

"Arthur... I'm sorry. I should have told you," Merlin said, hurting both physically and emotionally, not knowing what he could say to comfort Arthur, shaking, cold and scared, terrified of what would come of this.

"But... Why? Why would you practice magic behind my back? How could you do that to me?" Arthur said, so quiet Merlin could hardly hear him, causing tears to roll down his cheeks.

"I didn't choose to. I was born with magic. I-- It's like breathing. If I can't use magic, what use am I? I've done everything for you, only for you," Merlin cried, desperate. He had once thought he wouldn't shed tears over Arthur finding out, but the look on his prince's face broke him inside. He wished he could go back and talk with Lysander again, come up with a different plan. How could things have gone so wrong?

"... Get out." Arthur's heart was shattered, gone. He was gone. His mind was spiraling away, because... Merlin. It was all Merlin. Everything for Merlin.

It had been for Merlin.

But what now?

Nothing was left.

And with that, Merlin was gone.

Gone.


End file.
